Guillermo del Toro Grabs "The Rings"

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:32:41

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Hobbit fans, rejoice! Spanish director Guillermo del Toro, who helmed Pan's Labyrinth and The Orphanage, has been confirmed to direct New Line Cinema's two forthcoming Lord of the Rings prequels. Oscar winner Peter Jackson, who directed the franchise's three films to date, will be involved in the prequel films, serving as executive producer on the prequels.

Del Toro will relocate to New Zealand–Jackson's native country-for the next four years while filming The Hobbit and its sequel. The pair of films will be shot back to back. For those of you keeping score at home, the sequel to The Hobbit will deal with the 60-year time period of what happens between The Hobbit and the first LOTR.

Before packing his bags and putting his nose to the Hobbit grindstone, del Toro will finish work on Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the sequel to Hellboy. Clearly, del Toro has a knack for directing fantastical films and we're sure he will do LOTR diehards proud with his work. We know he'll hear about it on messageboards for decades to come if he doesn't!